Swap-A-Roo = Not for You?

[Maisie]

If I was going to sell something on the pre-loved board I would make sure I knew exactly what I was selling, right down to the last inclusion. I've been here a while and want to stick around. That wouldn't be easy if I started pissing other ps'ers off!

 

[maplefemme]

My only purchase of a PSer pre-owned piece has not gone well and I'm not happy, but buyer beware and I'm stuck with it now.
It's not even the PSers fault, she relied on the original sellers info as much as I did.
Our only option would have been to switch and pay $7,000 more for a stone .26cts less and two clarity grades lower, to gain one color grade higher of what the original stone was supposed to be, and that did not fly well with my SO so he settled for a discount.
Now that my alternate option offered went down in price $2,450 just a couple of weeks later, when it was once so firm, we are quite upset with the whole transaction.

I would buy PS pre-owned again but I'd be much more careful...

So sorry to hear that!

Which brings up another valid point...PSers are a tough crowd...a picky, educated, crowd - which is a good thing. I would try to represent something I sold to the best of my ability, but it might be easier to sell to the general, zales adoring, public!

Thanks TG
Yes, it's a good thing, I have learned from knowledgeable members a lot since joining.
Next time I won't blindly trust a vendor solely based on them being a highly regarded PS vendor, I take responsibility for my mistake in not doing my due diligence. Regardless of reputation, I should have asked more from them.

 

[Laila619]

My only purchase of a PSer pre-owned piece has not gone well and I'm not happy, but buyer beware and I'm stuck with it now.
It's not even the PSers fault, she relied on the original sellers info as much as I did.
Our only option would have been to switch and pay $7,000 more for a stone .26cts less and two clarity grades lower, to gain one color grade higher of what the original stone was supposed to be, and that did not fly well with my SO so he settled for a discount.
Now that my alternate option offered went down in price $2,450 just a couple of weeks later, when it was once so firm, we are quite upset with the whole transaction.

I would buy PS pre-owned again but I'd be much more careful...

I'm sorry to hear that. What went wrong if you don't mind sharing?

 

[maplefemme]

My only purchase of a PSer pre-owned piece has not gone well and I'm not happy, but buyer beware and I'm stuck with it now.
It's not even the PSers fault, she relied on the original sellers info as much as I did.
Our only option would have been to switch and pay $7,000 more for a stone .26cts less and two clarity grades lower, to gain one color grade higher of what the original stone was supposed to be, and that did not fly well with my SO so he settled for a discount.
Now that my alternate option offered went down in price $2,450 just a couple of weeks later, when it was once so firm, we are quite upset with the whole transaction.

I would buy PS pre-owned again but I'd be much more careful...

I'm sorry to hear that. What went wrong if you don't mind sharing?

Thank you, it's unfortunate, yes...

We purchased a large OEC from a PS highly recommended vendor.
It was a stone on consignment, owned by a fellow PSer who had purchased it from this same vendor a year prior.
My SO purchased it on layaway so it is not returnable.
It was set in a ring and I was told that we couldn't remove it from the setting until it was closer to being paid off, as per it's owner's request.
It had no grading papers and the vendor had it graded in-house I was told. I trusted them because so many PSers have stones from them and are happy.
Before setting it, Victor sent it to GIA for us. He said it was a nice lively stone but he knew right away it was lower than L/M.
The clarity and weight were accurate, but the color is WAY off, instead of being L/M it's S/T - exactly what I didn't want. I would have excepted N/O even.
I contacted the vendor right away and she said she was shocked and embarrased, however, she stands by her grade over GIAs.
I asked to switch the stone with one she had on her website. As I mentioned above, it was $7,000 more, 2 clarity grades lower, .26cts smaller, for one color higher than the one we purchased.
She said that price was firm because since we started the layaway; prices had gone up.
Well my SO said no way would he pay another $7,000 to them for a stone that's smaller, with the majority of specs being less than what we were supposed to have in the first place.
He settled for a discount.
Now just a couple of weeks later, the stone I wanted to switch to went on substantial sale, and I'm very upset about that.
I'm also concerned my stone won't do Victor's setting justice and look very tinted.
It's taken the excitement out of seeing the stone completely.

 

[Maisie]

I'm really sorry you had such a disappointing experience Maplefemme. I am pretty sure I know who your vendor is. I am really suprised that she wouldn't let you return it seeing as it was misrepresented. Its not like the colour grade was slightly off. Its quite a few grades off. I would have thought she would accept the GIA report instead of her 'in house' grading. What is 'in house' grading anyway? Does she look at it and decide or does her jeweller have a quick look?

If she was selling the stone/ring for someone on consignment she would have forwarded your payments to the seller I presume. So really she wouldn't have been able to refund you. That would be down to the seller. You say you had a discount but in the end you are stuck with a stone you don't like or want. I wouldn't have accepted any of this.

 

[missy]

Maplefemme, how disappointing! I am surprised she would not make this right. I trust GIA grading of color and in any case they should have wanted to make you happy. It was their stone originally and they should have at least let you make the switch for a more reasonable price or refunded you -layaway or not!

So sorry about this situation!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Maplefemme,

Your post makes me sad. That really stinks! If the vendor wants to stand by her self-assessment of the color, that's great, but she should have taken the stone back for a full refund and then sold it on to the next buyer who perhaps wouldn't have had it graded?

Is there a chance that it faces up whiter, since GIA would grade the diamond from the side?? I hope that is the the case, and I hope you are pleasantly surprised with it.

 

[decodelighted]

Sorry that happened, Maplefemme. It brings up some interesting points I've nver thought of before. If it's consigned through a vendor -- who stands behind the grading? The *owner* of the item isn't an expert .... and, seemingly, the *consigning jeweler* feels no responsibility about accuracy because they aren't the owner & their business isn't standing behind the product.

Guess it's MUCH less "safe" than buying from a vendor who WILL stand behind their merch. More risk, more potential reward (in terms of savings?) But important to realize the RISKS involved too. Thanks for sharing your story, Maplefemme. It's something we probably take foregranted to some extent when we feel we *know* people.


ETA: Am I correct in assuming that this vendor isn't ACTUALLY a "PS vendor" ... more like, a vendor who is *known* on PS?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Sorry about what happened, Maplefemme. Your situation seems like an entirely different scenerio than the general second-hand-market shopping going on here on PS and DB. You were doing a transaction with a vendor. That vendor had the diamond up on a website and was advertizing it rather than it being sold by the owner, like most DB jewelry is. Very poor business practice!

Deco - it's not a PS Vendor.

 

[Maisie]

Even on DB you can usually return something if its misrepresented. I honestly feel that this vendor could have done better here.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I think the mistake was not sending for the ring to look at before the final commitment to buy was made. If the vendor is the one I suspect, I think they have a 3 day return. You could have put it on a credit card to look at, returned it, and then put it on layaway. It is really important have an uncertified stone verified by a local jeweler at the very least since color is going to have a major effect on the pricing. The problem in this case aside from committing to a stone you hadn't seen was that it was on consignment and the seller really may not care whether you are satisfied or not. I hope others learn from it to never buy something without looking at it if there will be no return once you start a layaway. And it proves the importance of a grading certificate over a vendor opinion, definitely. I am so sorry this happened, though.

 

[missy]

Wow, I feel so disappointed for you. I really trusted this vendor and am surprised. I cannot understand why they are not standing by their product. It was their stone initially right?

 

[movie zombie]

its not their stone, right? it was on consignment...... which means they get a piece of the sale price, right?

 

[Laila619]

Wow, I feel so disappointed for you. I really trusted this vendor and am surprised. I cannot understand why they are not standing by their product. It was their stone initially right?

Ditto. It took me a few to figure out who it was, but how very disappointing.

 

[maplefemme]

I think the mistake was not sending for the ring to look at before the final commitment to buy was made. If the vendor is the one I suspect, I think they have a 3 day return. You could have put it on a credit card to look at, returned it, and then put it on layaway. It is really important have an uncertified stone verified by a local jeweler at the very least since color is going to have a major effect on the pricing. The problem in this case aside from committing to a stone you hadn't seen was that it was on consignment and the seller really may not care whether you are satisfied or not. I hope others learn from it to never buy something without looking at it if there will be no return once you start a layaway. And it proves the importance of a grading certificate over a vendor opinion, definitely. I am so sorry this happened, though.

Diamondseeker, I agree with you, we made a mistake not having it shipped up to Canada to see it first, however, we didn't have $15,000 available to us to do so. I wouldn't have done this with an unknown vendor, but JbEG is so highly regarded here with not a bad review to be found with lots of similar transactions, we thought this would be safe.
I do take complete responsibility for my choice though, I should have not purchased a stone without a grading or seeing it first, regardless of the vendor's reputation, my fault for that I admit.

For everyone else, thank you, I don't feel so unreasonable now.
I never expected a straight switch, we would have paid some difference, but to see the stone I wanted to switch to, one who's price was so firm when I asked about making the switch; now go on sale, that really upset me, I feel very ripped off.

The stone originally belonged to, and was sourced by, JbEG. They sold it last year under the same specs. So even though the stone doesn't now belong to them, I feel it's still their resoponsibility as the person it belonged to trusted their grade too, its not her fault.
I just wish this wasn't for me E-ring, I do want to be proud of it...

 

[missy]

I think the mistake was not sending for the ring to look at before the final commitment to buy was made. If the vendor is the one I suspect, I think they have a 3 day return. You could have put it on a credit card to look at, returned it, and then put it on layaway. It is really important have an uncertified stone verified by a local jeweler at the very least since color is going to have a major effect on the pricing. The problem in this case aside from committing to a stone you hadn't seen was that it was on consignment and the seller really may not care whether you are satisfied or not. I hope others learn from it to never buy something without looking at it if there will be no return once you start a layaway. And it proves the importance of a grading certificate over a vendor opinion, definitely. I am so sorry this happened, though.

Diamondseeker, I agree with you, we made a mistake not having it shipped up to Canada to see it first, however, we didn't have $15,000 available to us to do so. I wouldn't have done this with an unknown vendor, but JbEG is so highly regarded here with not a bad review to be found with lots of similar transactions, we thought this would be safe.
I do take complete responsibility for my choice though, I should have not purchased a stone without a grading or seeing it first, regardless of the vendor's reputation, my fault for that I admit.

For everyone else, thank you, I don't feel so unreasonable now.
I never expected a straight switch, we would have paid some difference, but to see the stone I wanted to switch to, one who's price was so firm when I asked about making the switch; now go on sale, that really upset me, I feel very ripped off.

The stone originally belonged to, and was sourced by, JbEG. They sold it last year under the same specs. So even though the stone doesn't now belong to them, I feel it's still their resoponsibility as the person it belonged to trusted their grade too, its not her fault.
I just wish this wasn't for me E-ring, I do want to be proud of it...

Oh honey, you are *NOT* being unreasonable at all. You spent a lot of money and the stone was incorrectly graded by them. They should have allowed you to return it. It was misrepresented. So sorry this happened!

 

[decodelighted]

There's always got to be a FIRST bad review I guess. Very saddening. ESPECIALLY because it's your engagement stone. They should have made it right IMHO. It will affect my perception of them in the future.

 

[maplefemme]

Thank you Missy and Decodelighted, I know mistakes happen, I'm very understanding to deal with. I just wish they would have handled this differently and given us the option to switch and get the other similar stone at the same price they have it listed on sale for now.
We were told the price was firm

 

[Maisie]

Thank you Missy and Decodelighted, I know mistakes happen, I'm very understanding to deal with. I just wish they would have handled this differently and given us the option to switch and get the other similar stone at the same price they have it listed on sale for now.
We were told the price was firm

Its this part that disgusts me the most!

 

[ericad]

Hi all,

I know this is a thread jack, but since we're the vendor in question I felt it prudent to post, as there are 2 sides to every transaction.

The ring in question was graded internally by me, as well as by 2 respected jewelers. We grade in accordance with EGL standards because this is more or less the industry standard with antique cuts. We are very transparent about this. Maplefemme asked us to send the stone to GIA, which we happily did, and we were very surprised at the grading. We disagree with it, but it is what it is. We feel that with lower colored stones, EGL is more consistent. For uncerted stones, we do our best to accurately represent them, and we offer an unconditional inspection period for buyers to utilize independent appraisers. In the case of layaways, however, this inspection period is not available.

Because this was a layaway piece (and a lengthy layaway at that) and a consignment sale, a refund was not an option. At the time, we had no other stones of comparable size for the price they had paid. To be frank, the original price they paid for this stone was very good even given the lower GIA grading. The discounted price they chose in order to keep it makes it a steal. I only say this because it simply wasn't possible to find a similar sized stone, whiter, for the same price. We couldn't even come close, and we did try. Obviously, though, that doesn't change the fact that the diamond didn't grade as expected.

As for the stone that maplefemme liked that later went on sale, she certainly had (and continues to have) the option of trading her diamond toward this or any other piece in our inventory. I believe it was the 2.67ct OEC, and for that stone even the sale price greatly exceeds the purchase price of her diamond. But we did offer her fiance this option and he informed us via email that he preferred a partial credit to keep the stone they bought, and that spending any additional money for a different stone was not an option (he was VERY clear about this). Off the top of my head, the price of the 2.67 was $7k+ over what they originally paid for their stone. He expressed no interest in considering this option, so we never got into pricing or negotiations, and many weeks later, after this transaction was closed, we marked it on sale by sheer coincidence.

In any case, had we known how unhappy she was with her diamond we would have continued working with them to trade it in for something more suitable. Last we heard, she was thrilled that her fiance accepted the partial refund because she loved the stone no matter what the papers said. So we are quite stunned to hear that she's so unhappy with it - truly it's the first we've heard about it.

As for representation of uncerted stones, please note that our experience with Maplefemme and GIA has made a strong impression on us. Since her transaction, we've implemented a policy that all JbEG-owned loose diamonds will be sent to EGL, and all consignment goods are required to include either a lab report or an independent appraisal before we will accept it. We take these things very seriously - we're human and make mistakes, but we've already taken measures to ensure that this type of situation doesn't happen again, not as a result of this thread, but was done months ago out of a desire to constantly improve our business and our clients' experience.

Maplefemme, we would be happy to take it back as a trade in towards something else from our inventory, and will honor the sale price on the 2.67 if that's the stone you want - we would have happily done this 2 months ago but we were told it's not an option for you both. In the end, we want all of our clients to be thrilled with the pieces they buy from us (and NEVER EVER "stuck with" anything) and we will work with you to achieve this. When all of this happened, we told your fiance that we would do ANYTHING to make this right, and he requested the credit. I'm sorry that you feel you were forced to accept a partial refund, but it was at his request that we did so. We opened the door to resolve the situation, he requested a credit, and we complied. We really thought you were both happy with this resolution, as well as with the diamond.

I do wish you had reached out to us in the weeks following the partial refund, and we would have said the exact same thing to you privately. In any case, do let us know what you want to do.

 

[MissStepcut]

People get so very emotional about engagement rings. Especially around here. I have a lot of sympathy for businesspeople whose business is about money but also about emotions. It's a lot more complicated than selling, say, loaves of bread. When former consumers become sellers, they're going to have to deal with that too. I'm not sure I have the stomach for it.

 

[Maisie]

If it was my stone I would take the offer of trading it against something else. I'm sure they can source a suitable stone so that Maplefemme will be happy and can enjoy her engagement ring.

 

[decodelighted]

If it was my stone I would take the offer of trading it against something else. I'm sure they can source a suitable stone so that Maplefemme will be happy and can enjoy her engagement ring.

It's problematic when you have to try to replicate "a steal of a deal". As we all know, those don't come along everyday. Or trade something that was a "steal" for something that's more retail pricing. Something's gotta give.

Since it's an engagement ring -- and since the deciding party is seemingly not around to explain HIS side of the story .... I'm a bit uncomfortable discussing it.

 

[Maisie]

If it was my stone I would take the offer of trading it against something else. I'm sure they can source a suitable stone so that Maplefemme will be happy and can enjoy her engagement ring.

It's problematic when you have to try to replicate "a steal of a deal". As we all know, those don't come along everyday. Or trade something that was a "steal" for something that's more retail pricing. Something's gotta give.

Since it's an engagement ring -- and since the deciding party is seemingly not around to explain HIS side of the story .... I'm a bit uncomfortable discussing it.

Its only a deal if its what you are looking for.... Maplefemme thought she was getting an L/M and it turned out to be a S/T. If she feels that it will look too tinted for the setting she has chosen she might prefer to change the stone for something further up the colour scale. And if I was in her position thats what I would do. She might not get the same size stone but at least the colour would be more acceptable to her.

 

[decodelighted]

If it was my stone I would take the offer of trading it against something else. I'm sure they can source a suitable stone so that Maplefemme will be happy and can enjoy her engagement ring.

It's problematic when you have to try to replicate "a steal of a deal". As we all know, those don't come along everyday. Or trade something that was a "steal" for something that's more retail pricing. Something's gotta give.

Since it's an engagement ring -- and since the deciding party is seemingly not around to explain HIS side of the story .... I'm a bit uncomfortable discussing it.

Its only a deal if its what you are looking for.... Maplefemme thought she was getting an L/M and it turned out to be a S/T. If she feels that it will look too tinted for the setting she has chosen she might prefer to change the stone for something further up the colour scale. And if I was in her position thats what I would do. She might not get the same size stone but at least the colour would be more acceptable to her.

It doesn't sound like SHE is doing the choosing ... at least alone. I'd hope MF's SO would be agreeable to a swap at this point, if that's what she really wants & the vendor is willing -- but, guys are funny about stuff sometimes.

 

[Maisie]

Very true. By the sounds of it he didn't give her the whole story about the purchase from JBEG....

 

[maplefemme]

Erica, thank you for your post, I appreciate your response.
I emailed Grace immediately after getting the email from Victor confirming the GIA report, I asked her right away to hold the other stone until I could call my SO and ask what he thought, something I was very apprehensive of doing because he already had reservations about ordering online and getting what he paid for, I had assured him everything would be fine and I knew he'd be upset about the GIA grade.
When Grace wrote me back, very quickly which was nice, she said that stone was spoken for and you were awaiting a deposit due in a few days, that if the deposit want received I might be able to switch it.
When I spoke to my SO he was upset about the large color grade difference and refused to pay an additional $7,000 for a similar stone, one color grade higher and two grades in clarity lower and over 1/4ct smaller.
He felt like he was being taken, rightly or wrongly, thats how he felt, and so I had no choice but to accept his choice in getting a discount and respectfully so. You have to understand, he doesn't come on PS or know JbEG. He just knows he bought a diamond from someone online, who he doesn't know, but I recommended, and that GIA said it was many grades lower in color and therefore not what it was sold as. I understand your point of view, Erica, that the stone was of fair value at $15,000...but he paid that with the expectation of it being an L/M color or close, and therefore there was a discrepancy and he felt that effected its value. GIA is not perfect, but they are well respected as a leading grading authority.

Grace just emailed me, I will speak with my SO and see how he feels about switching for the sale price.

Thank you Erica.

 

[Maisie]

I hope you get something you will totally love! I'm glad its all worked out well for you.

 

[missy]

Good luck Maplefemme- I hope your FI and you can work out a happy conclusion with Erica and Grace. And I hope you will love your new ER no matter what you decide!

 

[maplefemme]

Well that was a short conversation, he refuses to give JbEG any more funds, period.
It may make him sound like he doesn't care about my wants, however, he's already more than doubled his initial budget to over $21,000 on this entire e-ring because he was trying to please me and get the stone and setting I wanted and picked. He's been beyond accommodating to me.
The other stone I mentioned to him at a $7,000 increase at the time was not an option, he said he's frustrated that it went down to $5,000 a few weeks later, it's just one more thing that's frustrated him in this stone purchase, so sadly it's turned him off of buying another stone from JbEG.

Thank you anyway Erica, I appreciate the offer for a resolution.